I submitted my song May 30th, as I had just discovered there was a contest this year, so it was mixed in about a day and I went with my gut, and did not listen to the original mix until after my rough mix. I just pulled up all the tracks and started mixing away. For this song, I took a very different approach, but still feel it was in line with the producer's intention. However, I made the beginning and end a bit more intimate, by leaving only the piano and vocals. I also felt this gave the middle section more effect and more punch; I wanted to give it a little ebb and flow. I also added more delay and verb to the vocals, not just for space, but also to carry a little more emotion than the original; I also utilized quite a bit of reverse reverb and slightly blended it against the original tracks. I tried to walk the line between a ballad and a dance number. I added nothing to the song, aside from a little rain, thunder, and traffic noise in the beginning and in the breakdown. 

For mixing, I used Waves' SSL E-Channel for my EQs, a few comps, and nearly all the gates. I also have some hardware like a Manley SLAM and Purple Audio MC77 I hit some tracks with. I used McDSP Revolver for my reverbs, and a tape machine for my delays. The piano track, which is prominent in my mix, was EQed with a SSL E-Channel and then fed into a Sonnox Oxford Inflator, which made it large and warm, just like I envisioned it should be. The master buss also had a Sonnox Oxford Inflator (more for the high end crispness and attack) and Sonnox Oxford Limiter (for the warmth and punch), which is standard for my master buss. I also used the Sonnox Trans Mod for a couple of tracks, just to bring out some more attack.

Howlin by Amber Skye (PureMix Contest 2014 Randall Yeager Mix)

Randall Yeager